I locked my gaze onto Damien's gray eyes, adrenaline rushing through me. I felt the urge to shoot him as I remembered the headaches Blaze had caused.
Ryder Crown, the heir of the Crown family, sneered. "What can she do besides seduce him?" I smirked at the thought. If only he knew how easily I could take him down.
"Don't let her pretty face fool you; she can be deadly," Damien said quietly, his intense gaze sending a thrill down my spine. I smiled innocently, but I sensed he knew more about my skills than he should.
"She'll do it," my father suddenly declared, and my heart sank. Confusion washed over me. Why did he want me on this mission? I usually avoided Circle missions for a reason.
"Then it's settled," Richard concluded, creating a thick tension as the meeting ended.
As everyone left, I sensed something was wrong. My dad sat silently in the car ride home, a sign that trouble was brewing.
"Why did you want me on the mission, Dad?" I pressed, but he remained quiet. "Dad, I…"
"Not now, Raven. The eagle sees all," he replied cryptically. That was our code for spies nearby. I glanced around the car, looking for anyone who might be listening. Carlos, my dad's younger brother and second-in-command, sat next to him, while Aiden, my loyal bodyguard, rounded out the group. I even considered the driver; anyone could be eavesdropping.
Once we got home, I rushed to my room, took off my weapons, and opened my secret weapon closet—a hidden part of the wall. I put everything away except for my favorite dagger. Before I could relax, my sister barged in without knocking.
"How did the meeting go, Raven?" she asked casually.
"Why do you care? Ready to claim my spot as the heir?" I shot back teasingly.
"Why would I want your job when I can be your second-in-command? If I wanted you out of the way, I'd just kill you in your sleep or poison your food. You'd be gone before you knew it." I smirked, admiring how she had inherited our dad's ruthlessness and mom's looks—sandy brown hair, blue eyes, brown skin but I was the weird one in the family, I stood out with my white hair that had red streaks in it and green eyes. I didn't resemble my dad or my mom because of my weird hair color
Our family history has its close calls, like when Dad almost shot Mom for cheating even tho I had his green eyes. In the end, a DNA test confirmed I was truly his daughter despite my difference in appearance—a test that avoided a lot of mess thanks to Carlo's insistence.
"You can't even land a punch on a fly. I doubt you could kill me with my hands tied," I taunted, and she stormed out, furious. Our family showed affection through fighting, threats, and sometimes real attempts to harm each other. I remembered when she once poisoned my food; her plan was to paralyze me for a day, but I caught on and didn't eat it. I told Dad, and as punishment, he made her eat it instead. She was only fourteen then—too young for such dangerous games. She cried and I had loved the sound of her tears, music to my ears.
Just then, a sharp knock on my door brought me back. It was my bodyguard, Vito. "Time for the meeting," he said, closing the door behind him.
I quickly got dressed and went to Dad's study, confused to find him alone.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
He waved his hand dismissively. "They're not coming. What I'm about to tell you is just for you." The seriousness of his tone hit me hard.
"The Chase family is plotting something. I don't know the details yet, but it's dangerous and could destroy us. I need you to find out what's going on during your mission to take down Blaze." He rubbed his jaw, a sign he was hiding something. When he saw my focused stare, he dropped his hand.
"Do we have any leads? I can't just jump into the mission without more information," I said
"The only lead we have is that it involves our heirloom…"